Mineral wool forming apparatus



July .13, 1943.. N, D BAK AI. 2,324,140

' MINERAL 'wooL FORMING APPARATUS Filed May 21, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 g A! "it w i A. J8 ,J.

July 13; 1943. N DQBAK.ETAL 2,324,140 MINERAL wooL FORMING APPARATUS Filed May 21, 1941 s Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR N/GHOLAS DOB/1K Eon/A20 POM/EAL ORNEY 4 Ju1y13 ,1'943. N. DOBAK Em 2,32

MINERAL WOOL FORMING APPARATUS Filed May 21, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR /V/c/-/o4 A s 005A K.

TTORNEY .on the'line -5 of Fig. 4;

Patented 1.1, 13, 1943 MINERAL WOOL FORMING APPARATU Nicholas Dobak, Manville, and Edward R. Powell,

North Plainfield, N. J assignors to J ohns-Manvllle Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of .New'York Application May 21, 1941, Serial No. 394,506

Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in fluid jet nozzles employed in the manufacture of mineral wool for shredding a molten stream of the raw mineral wool forming material into fibres.

At the present time it is conventional in the art to subject a molten stream of slag, or the like, to the shredding action of a blast of. steam or other fluid issuing from a nozzle located adjacent the stream, Various types of nozzles have been employed for .this purpose, none of which have proven successful in converting a desirably high proportion of the molten stream into fibres with a minimum of unfiberized particles or shot. The instant invention has for its principal object the provision of an improved nozzle which produces in operation an increased fibre yield.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a nozzle of the type referred to, which is constructed to focus the main force of divergent steam jets substantially on a line parallel to and spaced from the forward face of the nozzle to obtain an improved shredding action. A further object of the invention is the provision of means to secure an improved relationship between the nozzle and the molten stream.

Ourinvention will bemore fully understood and further objects and advantages thereof will become apparent when reference is made to the more detailed description thereof which is .to

follow and to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view illustrating, portions of a mineral wool forming apparatus and nozzle of the instant invention in position for operation;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged front view of a nozzle in accordance with the instant invention;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional. view take Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on theline 8-6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the nozzle of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the lined-8 of Fig. 3; V

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the nozzle of the instant invention, illustrating its operation in conjunction with the stream of molten material; Fig. 10 is a view looking downward upon the nozzle of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a front view nozzle;

of a modified form of Fig. 12 is a sectional view taken on the line Fig. 13 is a plan view of the nozzle of Fig. 11; and

Fig. 14 is a sectional view taken on the line' l4l4 of Fig. 11.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, a mineral wool forming apparatus is disclosed, comprising a furnace l0 for melting the slag, rock, orv the like, to be converted into mineral wool fibres. Furnace l0 may be a cupola, such as conventionally employed in the art, a tank furnace, or the like. A stream of molten mineral wool forming material may be discharged from the furnace to a stream splitter, or the like, illustrated diagrammatically at 12, and from thence in front of and adjacent to a shredding nozzle I4 where it is shredded into a great multiplicity of fine fibres and some pro- The lower portion of the body includes an interportion of unfiberized particles or shot by a fluid blast,'suitably high pressure steam or compressed air, issuing from the nozzle.

In accordance with the instant invention, nozzl ll comprises a hollow body (see Figs. 3 to 8, inclusive), preferably formed as a single casting.

iorly threaded collar 16 adapted to receive the end of a nipple, or the like, l8, forming part of a line IS in communication with some suitable source' of fluid under pressure, such as steam or compressed air.

The nozzle is preferably formed to include two I upstanding sections or wings 20 and 22, respectively, the adjacent inner walls of which upwardparallel-sided slots communicating with the hollow interiors of the wings and through which the steam, compressed air, or other fluid, issues as a high velocity jet to perform the shredding operation. The orifices 30 upwardly diverge and may lie in substantial parallelism to the adjacent walls of the respective wings to form together a substantially V-shaped fluid discharge port.

Referring. now particularly to Figs. 4,, 6, '7, and 8,. a particular feature of the invention is disclosed, comprising an offset arrangement of the face portions of the nozzle adjacent the orifices. That is, a shoulder 32 is formed which lies in the plane of the outer wall of the slot defining an' orifice and extends the length of each orifice and is in alignment with its outeredge. The shoulder tapers from a minimum height at or-adjacent the lower terminal of the orifice to an i ncreased height at oradjacent its upper terminal. The shoulder is suitably formed by removing a portion of the metal forming the forward face of the nozzle adjacent the inner walls of the slot as by machining, or the like. Such finished inner faces 34, after the machining operation, preferably lie in a plane substantially at right angles, or in a plane at greater than a right angle, to the plane of the abutment or shoulder 32.

Referring now to Figs. 9 and 10, the operation of the nozzle in conjunction with a stream of the molten material is illustrated. Th nozsic in Fig. 9, as well as in Fig. 9, as well as'fn Figs. 3, 4, and 5, is shown in a vertical position, with the stream falling at an, angle considerably different from the normal case for purposes of clarity in illustration. However, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the nozzle, when in use, is so disposed that one of the orifices 30 extends in a direction substantially parallel to the stream 88 of molten material.

Steam or other fluid is supplied to the nozzle through line 19 and issues from. orifices l making up the V-shaped fluid discharge port. Shoulders 32 force the steam or other fluid under pressure to expand in an inward direction, the degree of divergence of the jets from their normal courses depending upon the height of the shoulders. Consequently, the gradual increase in the heights of shoulders I!- causes a like gradual increase in the divergence of the.

jets to produce the effect illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10, in which the main paths of movement of the jets are indicated by the finer dash lines. The stream of molten material a, falling between the jets as illustrated. and closely adjacent and substantially parallel to one of the orifices, is completely surrounded by the steam andshredded into a great multiplicity of extremely fine fibres, the shredding action being illustrated by the heavy dash lines in Figs. 9

and 10.

It has been determined that the nozzle .of the instant invention, employed as described above,

- produces a substantially increased yield of fibres,

with a corresponding reduction in the amount of unfiberized particles or shot as compared to jet arrangements heretofor employed. As will be readily appreciated, the greater the proportion of material that is converted into fibres, the greater the savings obtained; and also. and as amatter of particular importance, the reduction in the amount of shot contained in the mineral wool greatly enhances the value of the finished produc Referring now to Figs. 11 to 14, inclusive, a somewhat modified form of the invention is disclosed. In this embodiment, the hollow body includes an integral casting similar to that previously described, but .without walls for the inner sides of the wings, the wings in this instance being indicated by the reference characters 48 and 42. In place of theintegrally cast inner walls of the previous embodiment, separate plates are employed, formed of a material highly resistant to destruction when subjected to high temperatures, such as that of the stream of molten mineral wool forming material. Suitably, steel or an alloy of steel may be employed for the plates. Plates 44 are secured preferably by welding, as indicated at 46, to the main body member. The plates at the forward face of the nozzle are spaced from the casting to define orifices 48. The forward edges of the plates are in planes gradually diverging from the plane of the nozzle face, as shown particularly in Figs. 12, 13, and 14, to define shoulders 50 of gradually increasing height as extensions of the outer walls of the orifice forming slots, similarly as the shoulders 32 of the previously described form. The orifices may be closed at their upper ends as by shims 52. Plates, adjacent their lower ends are welded together and to the front and back faces of the main body portion as by welds 54. In this form of the invention, perforations 5B are formed below and substantially in alignment with the orifices to, in efi'ect, extend the streams of fluid issuing from the orifices 48. Plates u may be rounded adjacent their forward edges, as indicated at Ill (see Figs. 13 and 14), and

- cut away, as indicated at B8, to promotethe movetails need not be strictly adhered to, but that various changes and modifications will suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, all falling within the'scope of the invention as defined by .the subjoined claims.

What we claim is:

1. A nozzle for projecting a fluid jet against a stream of molten material, said nozzle comprising a hollow body including wings defining an open space therebetween, each of said wings including a forward face exposing an elongated fluid discharge orifice communicating with said hollow interior, said orifices diverging to form a substantially v-shaped port, a portion of each face interioriy of said V and contiguous to an orifice lying in a plane gradually inwardly diverging from the plane of the face portion on the opposite side of said orifice, said last-named divergence beginning at a point adjacent the lowerend of said V.

2. A nozzle for projecting a fiuid jet against a stream of molten material, comprising a hollow body including wings defining an open space therebetween, each of said wings including a face "tdlieadjacent and substantially parallel to said open space therebetween, each of said wings including a forward face exposing an elongated fluid discharge orifice in communication with said hollow interior, said orifices diverging upwardly 2,824,140 and including walls one of which projects beopen space therebetween, said wings including forward faces having elongated, upwardly diverging, fluid discharge orifices in communication with said hollow interior, and abutments in alignment with, and forming an extension of, the outeredges of said orifices, said abutments tapering relatively to the normal plane of said faces from a minimum height adjacent the lower ends of said orifices to a maximum height adjacent the upper edges thereof.

5. A nozzle for projecting a fluid jet against a stream of molten material, said nozzle comprising a hollow body including upwardly extending hollow wings, the adjacent walls of which define a substantially V-shaped open space, each of said wings including a forward face having an elongated fluid discharge orifice in substantial parallelism with the adjacent wall of said V and in communication with said hollow interior, and abutments in alignment with, and forming an extension of, the outer edges of said orifices, said abutments tapering relatively to the normal plane of said faces from a minimum height adjacent the lower ends of said orifices toga greater height adjacent the upper ends thereof.

6. A nozzle for projecting a fluid jet against a stream of molten material, said nozzle comprising a hollow, integrally cast body including hollow wings, theadjacent walls of which define a substantially V-shaped open space, each of said wings including a forward face having an elongated fluid discharge orifice in substantial parallelism with the adjacent wall of said V and in communication with said hollow interior, and abutments in alignment with, and forming an abutments tapering relatively to the normal plane of said faces from a minimum height adjacen't the lower ends of said orifices to a greater height adjacent the upper ends thereof.

7. A nozzle for projecting a fluid jet against a stream of molten material, said nozzle comprls- ,the forward edges of said plates being relieved from a point of substantial coincidence with the outer edges of said walls adjacent the bottom of extension of, the outer edges of said orifices, said said orifices to define shoulders in alignment with, and forming an extension of, the outer walls of said orifices, the shoulders upwardly diverging relatively to the forward edges of said plates. 1

8. A nozzle for projecting a fluid jet against a .stream of molten material, said nozzle comprising a hollow body including opposed wings defining an open space therebetween, plates of a heat-resistant material forming the adjacent walls of said wings and secured to said hollow body and spaced from the forward edges thereof .to define elongated fluid discharge orifices, means closing said orifices adjacent the upper ends of said wings, the forward edges of said plates being located to define shoulders in alignment with. and forming an extension of, the outer walls of said orifices, the shoulders upwardly diverging relatively to the forward edges of said plates.

9. A mineral wool forming apparatus comprising means for melting mineral wool forming material and discharging the same in the form of a stream, and anozzle for projecting a fluid jet against said stream, said nozzle comprising'a hollow body including wings defining an open space therebetween each of said wings having a forward face exposing elongated fluid discharge orifices in communication with said hollow interior, said orifices diverging upwardly and including walls one of which projects beyond the other, the walls being constructed and arranged to discharge fluid in J'ets whose main force converges substantially on a line parallel to said face and spaced therefrom, said nozzle being so arranged relatively to said stream that the stream falls between said orifices and adjacent and substantially parallel to one of said orifices.

10. A mineral wool forming, apparatus comprising means for melting mineral-wool forming material and discharging the same in the form of a stream, and a nozzle for projecting a fluid jet against said stream, said nozzle comprising a hollow body including wings defining an open space therebetween, said wings including forward faces having elongated, upwardly diverging, fluid discharge orifices in communication with said hollow interior, and abutments in alignment with, and forming an extension of, the outer edges of said orifices, said abutments tapering relatively to the manual plane of said faces from a minimum height adjacent the lower ends of saidorificesto a greater height adjacent the upper edges thereof, said nozzle being so arranged relatively to said stream that the streamfalls between said orifices and adjacent and substantially parallel to one of said orifices.

NICHOLAS DOBAK. EDWARD R. POWELL.

CERTIFICATE CORRECTION.

Patent N 42,521+,m0. July 1 191 NICHOLAS DOBAK, ET AL.

It is hereby certified that error ap pears in fine printed aiaecification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 2, first column, line 21-22, for "The .nozzle .inFig. 9, as well as in Fig.- 9, as

well as in" read --The nozzle in Fig. 9, as well as in--;'and second column, line 72-75, claim 5, for "including" read -havipg--; page 5, first colum n, line 8, claim 1a,, after "including" strike out the comma ahd sec- 0nd column, line 26, after "therehetween" insert acomma;and that the said Letters Patent should be readwith this correctiox therein that the same may conform to the record of the mo in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 11mm day r Sepizember, A. 1). 19h

. V H nry Van Arsdale, (Seal) Acting'commissioner offeter xts. 

